The beginning of 2008 God inspired a family ministry called Emerging Life Ministries. At first it was more of an idea than reality but He is gradually unfolding His purpose for this ministry. May He emerge more deeply in your life through this ministry. Visit the complete website at www.emerginglifeministries.net

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

I Know Nothing...

"Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything." Acts 9:8-9

Saul was an extremely trained teacher of the Old Testament. He had trained under Gamaliel, who was an honored teacher of the law. No one knew the law of God and it's teaching better than Saul. He could recite any Scripture at any time for any purpose. Saul's education on the faith was unmatched and along with this knowledge was a misguided view on who God was. He was so unchanging in his knowledge of God that he became unmoved in his distortion of what was happening.

God struck Saul down on the road to Damascus and blinded him for three days by placing scales over his eyes. God was going to teach Saul new things during this time but had to first take away his "vision of all things as he had known them before". Many times the perception and knowledge we have built regarding who God is in our lives is distorted and requires a total reworking of our vision. God left Saul in the dark for three days but still sent him guidance and help to assist in his blindness.

I had a perception of who God was when Kristen was battling drugs. I can only assume that since I constantly was looking to "fix" her, I was subconsciously short on trust that God could deliver her from her drug addiction. I didn't have him powerful enough, faithful enough and smart enough so on my road He had to remove my perceived vision of who I thought He was and create a situation where He could show me who He was - a God of deliverance, a God of purpose, a God of faithfulness and a God of sovereignty. He was so much more than my perception of Him.

Sometimes we get so complacent in thinking we know who God is we lose the vastness of His being and the enormity of His power. God reworked my vision, much like Saul's, and made me blind for a while but brought my vision back into focus once He had done the work in my life He knew my limited knowledge would have prevented.

In many trials, we are blinded to learn something different about God and to "unlearn" things that have become our "God truths" which are not consistent with who He really is. Just when we think we know Him the scales cover our eyes, we become totally dependent and wait for the vision to return.